


since you've been gone

by saltycryptious



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, im gay im sad and you cant stop me, remind spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22853410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltycryptious/pseuds/saltycryptious
Summary: Riku wants to pass on a message to Sora, wherever he is, so what better way than a message in a bottle?
Relationships: Sora/Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i'm going to be suing tetsuya nomura for emotion damage because dear fucking god OW

As Riku stepped away from the computer, facing another defeat against the data of Xion that they were meant to unlock, he inhaled deeply.

"You'll get it next time, don't give up!" Yuffie encouraged with a wide smile. "I'll give it a try, you just take a break and watch _this_!" Taking his place in front of the terminal, she set off determined.

He had focused all of his energy on finding Sora, and he got nowhere. When Cid showed him the program he found, he thought that maybe they had found something that could help them finally find him. _How is it meant to help when I can't do this? I can't do any of this without you, Sora..._

Noticing the glum expression he wore, Aerith strolled up to him with caution, lightly placing a gentle hand on his shoulder to coax him over to a nearby sofa, sitting down promptly.

"Riku, you're clearly tired, and you've done everything you can for Sora." Aerith insisted with sympathy.

"I've looked everywhere I can. Every world we know he's been to, and there's nothing." Riku lamented, cupping his face in his hands. "He couldn't have just disappeared without a trace. If this is what I have to do to find him, I'll do it in a heartbeat."

"How are you going to help Sora if you're exhausting yourself?" She scolded lightly. "You can't keep on going on like this, you have to remember to take care of yourself!"

Riku groaned and turned away, his eyes glassing over slightly. He had been searching for him in every waking moment he had, but had found nothing.

"You've been spending a lot of time here, but maybe it's worth a shot going back home for a while? You could relax for a while, we've got things covered here for now."

As Riku opened his mouth, about to protest, Leon remarked, passing by, "I'd take her advice, kid. She won't stop until she makes sure that you've been taking care of yourself. Real stubborn like that."

Aerith replied with nothing but a smile and a stern glace, simultaneously contradicting the message she was trying to get across.

"I guess... if you guys are alright here." Riku hesitated. "Just call me if you need me back here again or if anything happens, OK?"

"We promise, but only if you promise to take it easy on yourself!" She lectured.

A half-chuckle escaped him before agreeing and passing on a quick 'good luck' to Yuffie, already racking up one loss.

\---

As the Gummiship landed, the destination came into sight clearly. It was still difficult to go back after that day, but Destiny Islands was still his home. The journey itself was still met with hesitant resistance from his thoughts, but he had promised Aerith and everyone else in Radiant Garden.

Landing on the hidden side of the Play Island, he gazed at the marine seas with the aureate sands moving in tandem with the waves, brushing up against the shore, depositing sea shells every now and then. It filled him with nostalgia, the same warm feeling he got whenever he was here with Kairi and Sora.

His stomach dropped at the very thought of it. Out of the three of them, he was the only one still here. Kairi was alive, but sleeping in a lab was hardly a life.

He remembered of when she had told him, how he lashed out. How she was what Sora sacrificed himself for, and how she was just throwing it away. How her eyes watered as she yelled back that it was his fault for letting him go alone in the first place.

They had made up a week later, but Riku had always wished that they had more time to reconcile. Where he had remembered there previously being warm acceptance and friendship, only the cold sting of misery was left in its place.

As the glossy waves lapped over one another in the distance and rocks from the great depths of the oceans returned to the shore, he was met with an idea in his head.

He sprinted back into the Gummiship and rummaged through all of his belongings to find a pen, some paper, and a bottle.

And he started to write.

_Sora,_

_It's been a year. A year since you disappeared. That day on the beach, when Kairi returned, sobbing and broken. We've been searching for you non-stop, day and night. Where did you go, Sora?_

_Kairi misses you, Roxas misses you, Xion, Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Lea, even Isa, they all miss you. We all do. I hate that every morning I wake up, and I have to cope with the fact that you're not here, and it kills me. All I want is for you to be here, with me._

_Roxas and I made up. That day on the beach, I wanted to apologise to him, to clear the air for a new start. I hate what I had to do in the past, but I would do it all again for you, I'd find a way that no-one gets hurt this time. And he understood. He actually forgave me and told me that it was DiZ (Ansem the Wise, now) that was the one that was responsible and that there would be a lot less forgiveness there. (If I'm being honest, I'd do the same in his situation.)_

_Xion, Lea, Isa, and Roxas all live in Twilight Town together now. Xion told me that they eat sea-salt ice cream every day, which sounds great in theory, but I'm sure that they should be concerned with their well-being with that._

_Aqua offered to train Lea, Roxas, and Xion to become masters, which Roxas and Xion accepted, but Lea declined. Something about taking a break and wanting to be with the ones who matter more instead. Wish I could take that advice. With Roxas and Xion training at the Land of Departure from time to time, Lea and Isa also said that they'd be going to search for someone they'd met a long time ago._

_Even with Aqua training the others, she, Ventus, and Terra are in and out of the Realm of Darkness, looking for you. Aqua's got her friends with her, and they've all got each other, and Aqua insisted that they search there. Master Yen Sid assured me that with their armour, they'd be protected from the darkness._

_Speaking of whom, I talked to recently about your status as a Master. He lectures me each time about the Mark of Mastery and all that, but we both know that's not true. You've saved the worlds and everyone we know more than enough times to prove yourself worthy. Unfortunately for him, Aqua and Terra accidentally listened in and found out about this and I'll just say that if there was such a thing as a verbal ass kicking, that would have been it._

_The tests are apparently completely arbitrary, and Aqua decided to name you a Master ~~if~~ when you get back._

_Kairi... Kairi's not doing good. Not without you. None of us are. She thought that something in her heart would lead her to you, to find you again. She's been asleep for a year now, and we haven't found anything. It shatters me every time I have to see her like that, each time I walk into that lab. She's determined to find you, even if it's in her own way._

_Recently, I've been spending time with people in Radiant Garden: Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid. They've been so warm, so welcoming, so comforting ever since I arrived. It was actually Aerith that 'convinced' (pressured) me into taking a break and doing this. No-one told me that she can be so terrifying when she wants something. We recently discovered this program containing data of the Organisation, and for the first time in months, I felt a bit more hope._

_Well, that was until I got stuck with one. Remind me to never anger Xion, alright? Right about now, Yuffie is probably still trying to beat her data, but it's near impossible._

_But... I've been having these weird dreams lately. I wake up at a crossroads, the air around me cold, stiff, immovable, almost suffocating. It almost feels like a pair of eyes are gazing at me constantly, like shivers down my spine. Other times, I dream of you. But, you're not really there. All that remains of you is a crystalline statue, frozen in motion, stationary and static. I try and shout your name each time, but I feel that same pair of eyes targeted at me, and then it fades. It's so surreal, but in a way, I hope it's not real._

_If I knew you were out there, in pain or trapped, each second I waste not looking for you would be agonising. But I don't. No-one does. We're doing everything we can, but it's never enough. You've saved all of us, so now it's our turn to repay the favour._

_I don't even know if this is going to find you. Do you remember Kairi's letter? When we were at the shores in the Realm of Darkness, and it somehow came to you? I still don't know how it happened, but maybe it's just the connections in your heart to everyone. I know you're still out there, so our hearts must still be connected._

_Even then, I would still be happy staying in a realm with no light, because you'd always be mine. And you'd have enough for everyone, enough to light enough a whole realm. If it was an eternity spent, I would have been more than glad to spend it with you._

_This might just be me, writing to the wind, nothing remaining. But I have faith in you for that not to be true._

_We're going to find you, Sora. Soon enough, you'll be home, taking naps on the beach like the lazy bum you are. Kairi will wake up, and we can all be together again._

_You're what matters most to me, you're my dearly beloved._

Just as he was about to finish pouring his emotions onto the paper, he knew one final touch would complete it.

_I love you._

_\- Riku_

Whilst letting the bottle go, setting it down gently onto the edge of the shore, he watched as it bobbed up and down in the sea's vast waves.

And he hoped with all of his heart that it would find him.

\---

The chill of the crystal radiated into the atmosphere, leaving marks of frost where it went. Small, silver spectral spheres scattered the surroundings, converging around jagged, protruding spikes gathered around a statue of glass, shimmering on the roof below the bleak night sky.

Inside the statue was something that seemed to previously be hollow, but for a mere second, began to glimmer and glow, rekindled by the hope of safety and a familiar warmth.

He had faith that someone out there was looking out for him, protecting him, and fighting for him.

And he was going to find him. 


	2. part 2: electric boogaloo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't actually know the continuity of this but you can read it as a melody of memory ending from bad end remind?? i guess?? don't @ me idk either
> 
> anyways it's 4pm, time for your delivery of pain

Searching for someone who disappears is normally a relatively easy process. You search where you know where they've gone before, how they went, and follow that trail, following a pattern. However, when you're searching for someone who disappeared in a way only recorded once in history centuries ago, it's simple to say that it's not as easy anymore.

One whole year. 365 days. And for every second for all of those days, Riku waited, and waited, and waited.

Nothing.

After a while, he stopped counting.

His mind wondered back to the day he wrote the letter for Sora, feelings flowing like ink upon the page. After watching the bottle bob into the distance, spanning further than his eye could see, he had decided to head back to Radiant Garden, refreshed and ready for another bout.

Yuffie had already racked up an impressive 37 losses by the time Riku was gone (and judging by the tone of her voice and the look on the others's faces, it was a little more than 37), but Riku persevered nonetheless.

_For Sora,_ became his mantra. Repeated over and over and over, like a message never to be forgotten.

A break had managed to benefit him, renewing his stamina and will. Each battle letting him learn more and more, each attempt easier than the last.

No matter who would ask, especially Roxas (he knew he would rub it in his face forever if he knew), he _definitely_ did not call Xion for advice and help on how to defeat a data reconstruction of herself. Thanks to a phone call that was never made, he could finally progress, evoking elation from all onlookers.

But data could only bring them so far, and after a while, with the only trace of Sora being the data recreation standing lifelessly on the screen, waiting for an input, it became too hard to bear with his absence spanning on.

And time passed.

And passed.

Haunted by the same nightmare, becoming more and more frequent, and sleep becoming more and more rare.

Until the fateful day when he received a phone call he had waited too long for.

He sprinted to the lab he visited so often for support, familiarity, and forgiveness. The thrum of machines churning away filled the air whilst the familiar glare of silver and grey shone like a beacon.

_Kairi._

Finally, she was awake. Along with her awakening, feelings left untouched arose with it. Was she still mad at him? Could anything have changed? What would he even say to her, now that she could hear?

And all those thoughts were discarded as quickly as they were made as the second he stepped into the lab, he was tackled by a blur of red hair and a pink dress.

"You're finally awake, lazy bum." Riku mock-scolded and Kairi laughed, then beckoned him over to imminent news. The news he had longed so desperately to hear.

\---

As his footsteps slammed on the stairway, ascending to the top of the building, he always did wonder what had happened to his message in a bottle. Had the ocean's callous waves eroded the bottle, destroying the letter? Had it washed up on a nearby shore, not even making it past the shallow part of the sea?

Fortunately, he finally found his answer.

Unfortunately, that answer lay at the foot of a vision only seen in his worst nightmares.

He approached tentatively, every sound in the air deafening, every sight blinding, his heart so heavy, it threatened to pull him to the ground, his eyes welling up with tears that refused to fall.

His further inspection revealed truths he wished had remained hidden. The crystalline statue's hands tensed at his sides, spread out, his back flung into the air. An image that was far too familiar. A _defeat_.

Behind him followed huffs and pants, and finally, a small, silent gasp.

"Oh," Riku finally managed to speak, frozen in sorrow. "so that's where you went, Sora."

"Stop."

Riku and Kairi spun on their heels, an unfamiliar voice surrounding them, taking form beside the shining crystal. 

And with that form revealed the piercing eyes that struck him down, time and time again. _No._

"Who are you and what have you done to Sora?!" Kairi yelled, on the verge of screaming, filled with rage and anger.

"What did I do? I saved him." Yozora replied, his voice emotionless and cold. Remorseless.

_No, no, no. It couldn't be real. It wasn't real, it wasn't real-_

The sound of Kairi's Keyblade being summoned snapped him back into reality as she discarded her restraint and channelled her anger, racing forth, determined.

A _clang_ echoing through the air brought Riku's attention to the immediate parry from their opponent, and the calculated focus in his eyes.

_For Sora._

\---

Battered and broken, every move anticipated, only able to take advantage of the slightest of minor faults or hesitations.

A hard battle fought, but a worthy reward.

As if it were an instinct, Riku outstretched his arm and gripped his Keyblade tightly, tighter than he'd ever held it before, as if it was his last thread of hope.

Kairi stood where she had dealt the last blow to Yozora, gasping for air, her legs so worn out, she was forced by them to sit and rest. That was, until-

_Crack!_

The air thick with tension as the shimmering glass spears surrounding Sora began to shatter, the remnants scattered on the floor.

A small flame of hope, once contained within, now burning brighter than ever, filled the statue with light. Slowly, but surely, the colour began to return.

First, it was his hand. A small twitch evolving into a minor tremor. The hues spread up his arm, then enveloped his body, wrapping him in a warmth he hadn't felt for so long. His arms shook slightly, then fell to his side in exhaustion.

He slowly fell to the floor, his eyes still closed, but Riku finally slid in and held him in his arms.

A silent whisper fell on his ears, and it was everything he needed to hear.

"I... got your letter."

A smile lit up Sora's face for a second as his eyes struggled to flicker open, and he fell into slumber once more with his head slumped to the side, yet this time, protected in Riku's embrace.

"Let's go home. Together." Kairi said, tears streaming down her face, returned with a silent nod from Riku, picking up Sora, and taking a step, each one closer to home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> added that part at the end because in DDD when lea saves sora he just?? carries him like a sack of potatoes and it's the funniest thing ever to me
> 
> (please tell me if i made any mistakes or need to make any corrections i wrote this in one sitting without looking anything over)

**Author's Note:**

> i know the canon ending is yozora defeated but the bad ending? the drama? the potential?? canon is nothing but a pathetic wall and i'm a bitch with a sledgehammer


End file.
